Star Battlecruiser was a formal designation for a certain type of large battle cruiser^[1] that served in the Kuati Sector Forces,^[2][3] the Republic Navy,^[4][5] and later the Imperial Navy.^[3][6] Their size and power overshadowed that of contemporary Star Destroyer designs and was comparable to that of contemporary Star Dreadnoughts, though the largest of the latter type of warship were designed to be more powerful than any known capital ships.^[1][3][6]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Republic use 1.2 Imperial use 2 Known Star Battlecruiser designs 2.1 Allegiance-class battlecruiser 2.2 Imperial Star Battlecruiser 2.3 Praetor-class Star Battlecruiser 2.3.1 The Quaestor 2.4 Procurator-class Star Battlecruiser 3 Known Star Battlecruiser analogs 3.1 Mediator-class battle cruiser 4 Behind the scenes 5 Appearances 6 Sources 7 External links 8 Notes and references

HistoryEdit

Republic useEdit

The Star Battlecruisers described in the relatively peaceful pre-Clone Wars era were noted as being larger than both Acclamator-class assault ships^[2] and Imperial-class Star Destroyers.^[7] The heavy capital ships defended the Kuat sector among others, and were noted as having only limited hyperdrive range due to their defensive purposes.^[2]

Star Battlecruisers, like the Praetor-class,^[1] served the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. The Quaestor was a Republic Praetor-class Star Battlecruiser, notable for having accidentally crashed into the Separatist shipbuilding world of Pammant upon exiting hyperspace during a mission. The cataclysm destroyed the world, fracturing it to its core.^[5]

Imperial useEdit

After the war, new designs were built by at least one company, Kuat Drive Yards, while older models were phased out. The Praetor-class managed to serve in a limited capacity during the Galactic Civil War, despite being outdated.^[1]

Reactors stolen from a derelict Imperial Praetor provided power to the Rebel defenses on Hoth, which kept an entire fleet of heavy Imperial warships at bay.^[6] Comparatively, reactors stolen from an Imperial-class Star Destroyer that were used for the same purpose on Yavin 4, could only provide enough power to protect against one large pre-Executor battleship.^[8]

As late as 4 ABY, the production lines at Kuat kept producing Star Battlecruisers for the Imperial Navy.^[9]

Known Star Battlecruiser designsEdit

Allegiance-class battlecruiserEdit

Often nicknamed a "Heavy Star Destroyer," it was a 2,200 m vessel that saw service throughout the Empire, and was also utilized within the reborn Emperor's empire.

Imperial Star BattlecruiserEdit

This series of ships were produced during the Galactic Empire and saw more widespread service than earlier Republic models. Kuat Drive Yards produced them at least up to the time of the Battle of Endor.^[9]

Praetor-class Star BattlecruiserEdit

A Star Battlecruiser design from the days of the Galactic Republic, the Praetor-class continued in limited service into the Galactic Civil War, despite being outdated.^[1] Reactor-equipment from a derelict Praetor was used to power the defenses of Echo Base during the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY.^[6]

The QuaestorEdit

The Quaestor was a Republic Praetor-class Star Battlecruiser that crashed into the CIS shipyard planet of Pammant while in hyperspace, cracking the planet to its core and spreading radiation throughout the planet, destroying it.^[1]

Procurator-class Star BattlecruiserEdit

The Procurator-class was used by the Kuati Sector Forces for decades.^[1]

Known Star Battlecruiser analogsEdit

Mediator-class battle cruiserEdit

The Mediator-class was a battle cruiser model half the size of the Viscount-class Star Defender, the Star Defender itself being a counterpart to the Star Dreadnoughts of the Empire. A Mediator-class ship was capable of surviving a nuclear detonation in one of its hangars and still be flyable afterwards.^[10] Similar acts of sabotage were known to have completely destroyed Imperial-class Star Destroyers.^[11]

Behind the scenesEdit

In an official interview with TheForce.Net, author Curtis Saxton described the ships in Kuat's sector fleets as comparable to the later vessels of the Galactic Empire, but limited to local hyperdrive-ranges.^[3]

AppearancesEdit

• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Indirect mention only)
• The Bounty Hunter Wars

SourcesEdit

• Attack of the Clones: Incredible Cross-Sections
• Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections
• Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
• Star Wars: Complete Locations
• Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

External linksEdit

• Curtis Saxton interview

Notes and referencesEdit